Finding an able babysitter is more than a challenge for the parents. Either you ring up all your friends asking for recommendations, or you have to visit your society playgrounds to spot a qualified babysitter on your own. Even if you find a babysitter your kids will adore, there is no guarantee they’ll stay around for long. They might land a full-time job, join college, or may fall sick when you want them to babysit. Thankfully, there is a smarter way to find a qualified babysitter. You just need to grab your mobile phone and download one of the babysitting apps to find the sitter of your dreams. These online apps have a database of local babysitters looking for a suitable job. Some of these babysitting apps are free, while to use other apps, you need to purchase a subscription. These apps make it incredibly easy to search for childcare when you need them for an upcoming occupancy and sometimes even on short notice. Moreover, you can also access genuine reviews and ratings for the babysitters, which help you decide whether they are the right choice for your kid or not. These babysitting apps offer tons of benefits, not only to the parents but also to the sitters. These apps have a detailed job description that comes in handy to understand the job better, so there are fewer chances of disqualifications. Many babysitting apps thrive on network building, so you are likely to find many jobs through referrals from mutual friends.
Important features of a babysitting app
Before you decide which is app you will bank upon to fetch a reliable babysitter, you need to make sure they contain the following:
A large database of local caregivers Profile searching options User Ratings and Reviews Friends and Family Network Background checks and Screening Pocket-friendly packages
To help you find an app that parents trust to hire a babysitter for their kids, we have put together a list of babysitting apps that are top players in the market. So let’s go through them one by one.
Sittercity
Available for both; Android and iOS devices, Sittercity is a wonderful platform that brings families and caregivers on a single platform. Once you create a profile of a family on the app, you will have access to all the features needed for searching for a suitable babysitter or nanny near you. The families can post a vacancy describing their expectations regarding child care or tutoring needs. They can also search for babysitters by applying filters related to experience and skills and browsing through the search results to view their photos, availability, background checks, references, and reviews from other parents. On the other hand, babysitters can create a professional profile showcasing their skills and describing their experience. They receive notifications about job availability in their location, but they can also search for a suitable babysitting opportunity meeting their expectations. Sitters can apply for the available vacancy from the app to get an interview.
Bambino
Bambino is a popular babysitting app that has undoubtedly revolutionized the way families search for trusted babysitters to babysit their little ones. It is different from the other babysitting apps because it lets you meet the babysitters your neighborhood families hire. Families can browse through the favorites list of their friends and neighbors to see which babysitters they can trust for their babies. Moreover, you can enter your expectations and look for the babysitters available in your locality. You can read what other families have to say regarding their services and go through their detailed bio to learn more about them. When you need to hire a nanny for your kid, enter your information and babysitting schedule to view the list of babysitters available in real-time. Browse through the list and book the one you find to be the perfect fit. You can directly pay the babysitters from the app without worrying about cash. Standardized rates are already set for babysitters to save you from the hassle of bargaining. Bambino also promotes the top sitters of the area to the nearby families. The platform carries out comprehensive safety checks such as ID and Mobile Phone verification and even runs background checks before adding a babysitter profile.
UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter is the right platform to meet trusted caregivers and babysitters local to you. You can find a reliable full-time or a part-time nanny, a backup child care, or a babysitter you need occasionally. You can find your friends, make moms groups, and even connect with the parents of other’s kids, studying in your child’s school to get recommendations about a trusted babysitter. To guarantee the complete safety of your little ones, UrbanSitter ensures only those caregivers on the app that have passed all the safety checks and background verifications. Similarly, it also verifies the families who intend to hire a nanny through the app. Using UrbanSitter, it is also possible to hire a nanny on short notice, and you can interview and book them directly from the babysitting app. Moreover, UrbanSitter also ensures that the babysitters can be trained to provide CPR in emergencies. The platform lets you check how many families the babysitter regularly babysits to provide transparency to the hiring families. To facilitate hassle-free payment, you get an option to pay using your credit card directly through the app. UrbanSitter offers multiple pricing tiers to parents starting at USD 34.95 per month.
SeekingSitters
SeekingSitters is a babysitter referral website providing you a platform to meet professionals offering babysitter services, babysitting, child care services, Child care Solutions, Daycare Alternatives, and In-Home Childcare. This babysitting platform is known for fast communication and can even arrange a babysitter for last-minute requests. Whether you need a full-time or a part-time babysitter, SeekingSitter caters to your needs. They are known for their intensive background screening system, and they carry out a thorough background investigation on every potential sitter before recommending them to families. Likewise, all the families have to pass a member verification process once they sign up for the form, and once approved, they can request a babysitter. All the member families can easily request a babysitter or a nanny through the website or over a phone call. A Certified Professional Sitter who has passed an extensive background screening carried out by their in-house private investigator, trained in providing CPR, and First Aid is sent to them. Families can signup to request babysitters, browse through the babysitter profiles, and access the profiles of the babysitting team, currently active in their location. They can also favorite a babysitter based on their previous experiences.
Helpr
Helpr is an online platform offering on-demand backup care services to meet the needs of working parents. It connects the parents to trusted and quality caregivers where they can request a caregiver in even a short time. Families can book a caregiver just three hours before or even up to three months in advance. You can create your network or ask for our recommendations to request a childcare professional, all you need to do is register on the app to get started. Once the parents sign up, they can browse the local babysitters and favorite preferred caregivers. You can also book a caregiver by providing the date and time slot directly from the app but ensure you give at least three hours prior notice. A reliable childcare provider will be recommended to you, and you can check out their bio and confirm if you’re assured. Helpr employs extensive screening processes for its caregivers that includes ID verification, Criminal background check, CPR certification, and Professional childcare reference calls, saving you the stress about the safety of your kids.
Care.com
Care.com is arguably the best babysitters app connecting needy parents with care providers. Owing to its straightforward approach and the ease of use it provides, Care.com is the go-to platform for booking babysitters and nannies and paying for them using the integrated payment module. The care app facilitates a quick search option for finding professional babysitters and allows swift communication between the family and the potential caregiver. Parents can quickly access the profile of babysitters and express interest in the profile of caregivers that meets their requirements. It is worth knowing that Care has a detailed screening process for hiring caregivers that includes a criminal record check. To hire a babysitter, you need to create your profile providing a detailed job description that should include details like duration, children’s age, special needs, and more. Besides child care volunteers, parents can also find tutors, housekeepers, and people volunteers for pet care and eldercare.
Vivvi
Despite being a new player in the market with a mission to reinvent child care for working parents, Vivvi is at par with the popular babysitting apps. They recruit highly trained caregivers who are well-versed in providing child care and early learning to innocent souls. Vivvi offers a comprehensive childcare program to working parents, and unlike other babysitting apps, you are free to choose between flexible enrollment options. This means you can either enroll the kids into the campus program or hire a personal caregiver for your home. Vivvi pays special focus on the health and safety of your kids, and that’s why its campuses and caregivers provide the highest standards of security and care to the ones under their responsibility. They understand the emotional bond between the parents and their kids, so they also use real-time communication mediums like messaging, pictures, and video calls to keep the parents stay connected to their children. The website also partners with companies interested in offering the best quality and flexible babysitting services to employees. Vivvi offers three dedicated learning programs for different age groups- infants, toddlers, and pre-schools and also employs a sophisticated learning model for each age group.
Babysits
Babysits is another babysitting website well-known among babysitters and parents for referring caregivers to families worldwide. The app enjoys massive popularity in Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and many other states. Similar to Care.com, the primary function of Babysits is to act as a job board. The parents can sign up on the website and create a detailed job description. Likewise, babysitters can browse the available jobs and apply for the ones they are interested in. Babysits allows you to negotiate the babysitting hours and salary with the parents. Moreover, they do not charge any commission for providing you with the job. Babysits follows a badge system, and as you gain experience by babysitting more families, your badges increase. More badges mean more visibility to parents, more job opportunities, and better negotiation.
Swishboom
Swishboom is a babysitting app that streamlines the scheduling and hiring process of babysitters. Families can post a babysitting job description, and babysitters can browse the available job and claim them.This app-based platform for hiring babysitters has already helped busy parents by providing more than 3,000 hours of babysitting. This improves their productivity and helps them recharge themselves. Parents can provide necessary details like names, number of kids, and an emergency contact number to create their profile on the platform. Once verified, they can post hiring for babysitters either in advance or on short notice. They can connect with the babysitters visible in their network and send their job descriptions. Swishboom practices an extensive verification process and a background check to ensure that they recommend you a credible babysitter. Every applicant applying on the platform has to pass Email and Phone Number Verification, Sex Offender Registry Check, and the Social Media Check. Besides, they also need to bring in three references to confirm that they are in good standing.
Usit
Usit is another babysitting app that recommends college-going students to offer on-demand babysitting to parents. It is a great place to find local babysitters eliminating the need to worry about finding a reliable babysitter again. A tap of a button is all you need to get started on Usit, and parents have the freedom to decide the hourly rate and babysitting duration. Most often, they instantly find a sitter willing to sit for their baby. Parents can go through the reviews and ratings for the babysitter before hiring them, and they can also try them through the app while they are babysitting their kids. Usit uses PayPal for accepting payments, and the babysitters also get a 5-star rating along with the payment and bonus tips increasing the profile score. Similar to babysitters, parents also earn ratings on the platform. Usit charges USD 2.99 for each job you land on the platform, and you will have to pay USD 20 for each job you confirm and then cancel later.
Juggle
Juggle is a babysitter app available for both; Android and iOS devices and currently only offers babysitters in the United States. Apart from providing safer and smarter childcare options to the parents, Juggle also offers pet care and summer nanny assistance. Just like Usit, Juggle recruits college students and new grads as babysitters, so these sitters are more energetic and charming and love to engage with your little ones. Since college students have a busy schedule and cannot sign up for predictable work hours, Juggle mostly offers flexible gigs options that can pay them well. Juggle charges 20% of your hourly rate as commission, and as they have a seamless payment module within the app, your earnings directly reach your bank account. Families can either signup using an email id or through their Facebook account. If they signup through Facebook, they can see who their friends are hiring and get a genuine review about those sitters. The social media and community filters present on the app let you search for a trusted caregiver or nanny.
Sittr
Sittr boasts of being Australia’s leading babysitter and nanny finding app, and there’s a genuine reason for it. They have transformed their app Sittr into a very straightforward system that simplifies the entire signing up and hiring process for both; parents and babysitters. Unlike other babysitting apps, Sittr provides insurance coverage to the caregivers while they are babysitting. Babysitters sign up on the app and state their availability for the job. They can also opt to receive the job updates directly in their inbox. Sittr ensures the babysitters are certified to work with children and checks that they have a first-aid certificate. It also needs them to submit a copy of ID documents for verification. Sittr has also simplified the payment process and directly deposits the payment into the bank account when parents pay you through the app directly.
Bubble
Helping more than 100,000 parents find a trusted and quality caregiver locally, Bubble is considered a simple, convenient and safe option to find genuine babysitters in the United Kingdom. The app is completely free for babysitters, and they come under £1m public liability insurance. Moreover, babysitters are free to set their availability and decide the payment. Bubble signs you up through your Facebook account, which acts as ID proof. Besides, it is also a medium for finding new families and having mutual friends, so your chances of getting a referral are also increased. As a parent, you get to meet the babysitters trusted by your friends, so you need not worry about the reliability factor. You can download and use the Bubble app on both iOS and Android, and it also has an integrated payment module that allows you to go cashless and increase convenience. Apart from your Facebook friends, you can also connect to your phonebook contacts on Bubble. If you want to gain more information about the babysitter, you can reach out to the common friends between you and the potential babysitter. Bubble also tracks the sitting hours eliminating the confusion about the sitting hours.
Final Thoughts
So these are the most popular and well-known babysitting apps and websites where you can search and hire a babysitter or a nanny for your young one. Thanks to these platforms, hunting for a professional and reliable babysitter in your area is not a stressful task. These apps already carry out a well-planned background check on the babysitter they refer you to, but you should also do a background verification yourself for your relief. If you are also a cat parent, you may also look at some good apps to engage your cats.
